Alex The White

I know, I know it sounds like Gandalf the Wizard, but to me, he is. Show him the kitchen and the magic just flows.

This culinary meister loves travel and adventure. His exploits can be tracked by the stuff he brings home with him, ethnic crafts and native trinkest and baubles, among other things. A big man with a penchant for the outdoors, long bicycle rides, challenging climbs. You can tell by the truck that he drives – he doesn’t believe in flashy decals and frills, just something that can take a load, go through the miles and keep up with the hectic schedule, both personal and business.

He is into photography, too! If it’s not a soup ladle or knife in his hand, it must be a camera. Or nowadays, a phone camera. It all fits, cooking, photography, the outdoors. And a lot of adventures.

But first and foremost, is food, of course. Alex grew up in a big ,extended family that food is often a celebration, a gathering and a staple to kindling family ties. His love for our own local delicacies can only be matched with his passion for trying new recipes, combining influences and making them consumer ready without sacrificing taste. Also, our wine and liquor stock is his brainchild, promoting locally made craft beer, discovering new ones, making the choices for our customers wider than usual. It got so passionate that we have our own signature drinks – Bambutini, Jones Bridge – just a couple to tease the taste buds. His travels led to creating an ambience and feel for Bambu Intramuros and Bamboo Giant Malate, and the rest of the sibling restaurants he built. A chef that has been around for quite sometime, Alex loves putting together teams that is bred for only one thing – creating a menu worth going through each time you come by our place.

He has worked in Singapore, and elsewhere around the world, but his heart stays planted, firmly on local soil. Well, if he is not driving around his sturdy truck, doing business stuff and discovering other restos and nighspots around the metro that is. Not one to just sit around after the work is done, he also helps people as a consultant for their own businesses, always with the emphasis on taste and presentation, and everything else comes naturally – the styling and look – that makes people come again and again. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able chance upon us with Alex creating new delights on one of his food tasting treats.

Most of the time, the man is driving off to somewhere, makes me think he hardly ever sleeps! But that only shows he really enjoys what he does. maybe you can spot him on his grey pickup loaded with goods on the busy streets of Manila.

Nicottaenneaous Caffeineiac Musings 102313

• News – is when a known celebrity couple splits up and the girl deletes all photos of them, together, from their instagram account. Really interesting stuff.
• The German Embassy in Manila donates Php13.7M to the earthquake-hit Bohol and Cebu. The Philippine government agencies, however, are still arguing amongst themselves whether to let filipinos know that we have money, just not for everybody.
• Did you know there are more people who can afford DSLRs and yet shoots the same damn thing every time? And they have the gall to watermark all their photos and upload them online.
• Did you know using someone else’s photograph should be called theft, and not plagiarism? There’s a difference. Look it up. It’s the reason you have search engines.
• Do you understand that photography is a kind of theft? What else would you call a captured moment? Why do we call them “take the shot” in the first place.
• We should really start monitoring our politicians and government agencies. They seem to have flunked mathematics and we readily put them in positions that desperately needs some mathematical prowess. Case in point: Taxes, PDAF, and disaster relief funds.

Just a random image to accompany a blog post.

• Admit it. You put too much weight on people’s appearance.
• When asking for help, try to ask in a manner that would tip the favor in your side. People will do it for free, if you ask nicely.
• I’m losing my faith with news and journalism. There’s too much fluff and frills that go with the daily broadcast.
• I’m getting tired of living in the big city. My thoughts are now geared towards landing a big freelance job, or some really steady flow of  low paying but consistent jobs. I’m up to here with city life.
• Lay off of Freddie Aguilar’s love life. When you talk about his love life, you must ne talking about his sex life. And that’s none of your business. People who aren’t getting laid are the ones holding a grudge against people who are getting it.
• You might have guessed, even blogging has taken a back step when I’m illustrating and drawing.

…and I’m just killing time, letting some steam out before the weekend sets in and once again I barricade meself in me batcave and draw some more.

 

He Knows About Angela

Not many people know about her.

As a matter of fact, very few people seldom remember. It was one night of good brew and great camaraderie among people who are rarely together but when they do, it seems like they know each other pretty well. It was something I treasure every time I went. There are quite a few times, and I mean really few times I went to the gathering of people who have cameras for eyes and art for hearts. Heck, I don’t even see myself as a photographer, but these guys accepted a stray, so that makes these gatherings worthy of their own stories.

And he knows about Angela.

With Jojo, it was pure wit and humor, with Darrell, it was profundity, Mike, Buboy et al, a learning session about stuff I don;t know about lenses, and most of them I still don’t know shit. Tony, the wide variety storylines one can delve into with just one topic.

But he knows Angela.

Okay, time to stop being all cryptic. Angela is a song from Vitamin Z that we hit off on at one time. An obscure 80s album with a couple of radio hits and some great music  in the roster. I made a quip about it, firing a slew of  high points for a song that practically no one heard of, unless you bought the tape, or vinyl, and listened to the album in its entire glory. I remember singing a few lines that made him remember the song  . . . .

AND I REALLY LOVE HER,
SHE’S MORE THAN THE WORLD TO ME,
AND I REALLY WANT HER,
WOULD SHE GIVE ALL HER LOVE TO ME.

ANGELA DON’T GO AND LEAVE ME TONIGHT (LEAVE ME TONIGHT),
ANGELA PLEASE BE WITH ME (ANGELA),
ANGELA DON’T EVER WALK THROUGH MY LIFE (WALK THROUGH MY LIFE),
ANGELA PLEASE BE WITH ME, CAUSE I LOVE YOU.

He pointed out something about the intro, being all too techno but with a touch of good old pop rock. I said it was one of the best songs in the album, even though Burning flame was the more popular one.

And we both agreed Hi Hi Friend is the best song in that particular album.

From then on, it was music all the way, the nuances, the stuff I regret never following up with my guitar playing, and the envy we had for Tony’s Fender.

From left – Jojo, Tirong and me. (Photo by Darrell Sicam)

As I sit here, still sleepy from the lack of it. A two-hour bus trip back this morning from Sucat, Paranaque, was worth the several hours staying with Tirong’s bro, singing some songs, and joking about stuff Tirong might have something to say  to. Turns out I hardly know the man, there were stories I need to hear, adventures I had to take in, and  Momma Orbase just felt like she was glad Tyrone had more friends than she ever knew. She took some much-needed rest at about 2am this morning, and I wish I could have picked her mind about Tirong. But the fretwork of long-haired bro Orbase made it worthwhile to shoot some musical topics and what little bit of history I could glean from him, even while gin was being passed around and I tipped the jigger like cacti thirsty for water.

I hardly know the man.

But he knows Angela.

The interment is tomorrow. I can hardly bring myself to go there and bear witness. I have issues with death and goodbyes. I just like to think he just went off somewhere.

And he knows about Angela.

That makes him one of the few friends worth keeping.